[dovyski]

I am in the same position as the author: I have a tenure track in academia, a semi-decent work, and good feedback from peers/students. However, I never felt so miserable.

I've been thinking about all the reasons why I should not quit. The "freedom" in Academia, helping society (or a few people in it), the grass being greener on the other side, the pandemic is exacerbating my thoughts, it's just burnout, and so on.

I grow more convinced by the minute, particularly when I read that other share the same agonies (thanks for sharing this, author!). Industry is though in many aspects, but at least it's not a delusional bubble fueled by frustration as Academia is. If nothing else, Industry feels more real and with better chances of making me feel alive.

[karmakurtisaani]

I quit academia after my PhD. Now, working as a developer remotely I have no money stress, relaxed work schedule, relaxed colleagues, no need to write grant applications etc. I even have some time to study the same academic stuff I was doing before, but without the pressure. The only thing missing is the academic network for exchanging ideas.

When I tell this to my friends still in academia, I can sense some envy, but also get this feeling that they are not comfortable with even entertaining the idea of getting out of academia.

[glial]

You are not alone...I found the 'quit lit' genre to be both comforting and tempting as a grad student, e.g.

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2021/08/18/re...